1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a heterogeneous catalyst for preparing acrylic acid from allyl alcohol, and a method of preparing acrylic acid from allyl alcohol using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of preparing acrylic acid from allyl alcohol at a high yield by performing a liquid phase reaction in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst including gold supported on a carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Acrylic acid is the simplest unsaturated carboxylic acid, and is a main raw material of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) which are synthetic polymer materials having a capacity for absorbing 500 to 1000 times their own weight in moisture. SAPs started to be put to practical use in sanitary items, and, currently, are widely used as raw materials in soil conditioners for horticulture, water stopping agents for civil engineering and construction applications, sheets for raising seedlings, freshness preservatives for food distribution, goods for fomentation, and the like, in addition to sanitary items such as disposable diapers for children. Therefore, SAPs, known to have superior water absorbency as compared to conventional water-absorbing polymers, become increasingly more widely used in practical applications, and thus their market values become higher. Further, acrylic acid, used as a raw material of SAPs, has an important market value, too. Additionally, acrylic acid is used as an essential raw material of various kinds (3000 or more) of goods, such as acrylic fibers, paints, adhesives, coating agents and the like.
Currently, as a method of producing acrylic acid, a process of producing acrylic acid from propylene obtained from fossil fuel is generally used.
Meanwhile, glycerol is produced as a by-product in the process of producing a biodiesel from vegetable oils. In this case, when acrylic acid is produced from allyl alcohol derived from glycerol, there is an advantage in that acrylic acid can be produced from environment-friendly biomass without using fossil fuel. WO 2008/092115 A discloses a method of obtaining allyl alcohol, wherein allyl alcohol can be obtained by the reaction of glycerol and formic acid, without a catalyst, at a high yield. Therefore, it is expected that, when acrylic acid is produced from allyl alcohol, glycerol, as a by-product of biodiesel, can be effectively used, and thus the economical efficiency of biodiesel can be increased, and acrylic acid can be effectively produced from glycerol.
Therefore, research into the method of preparing acrylic acid from allyl alcohol at a high yield using special synthesis conditions is required.